A Random Conjunction of Syllables
by cave-fatuam
Summary: Random drabbles based in the Dragon Age: Origins Universe. Anders/Surana heavy  Rated M to be safe, but a warning will be placed at the top of each chapter that requires one.
1. Questions and Answers

I think my favorite thing about children is that they'll ask you damn near anything without worrying about the ramifications. So, Samahla from this asks Anders a few questions.

-Questions and Answers-

Anders stretched out a leg in the hammock. The bowl of blueberries on his chest counterbalanced by the cat near his feet. From somewhere below him a little voice asks, "Andy, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Sam."

"Where does the sun go at night?"

"Antiva."

"Why is the grass green?"

"Because it isn't red. I thought you had _**a**_ question."

"How many people are there in the world?"

"More than you can count, and more than I could be bothered to."

"Why are my ears pointy?"

"You're an elf, silly."

"Can I have a bite?"

"Yes."

He offers her the bowl, which she takes greedily.

"Do you like me?" She pops a handful of berries into her mouth.

"What?"

"Do you like me?"

Anders half opens one eye and finds himself face to face with the little towheaded elf. "Why are you asking me that Sam?" She's gnawing at her tunic sleeve and he pulls it away from her blue-stained mouth before sitting up, careful to maintain his balance and gingerly move the dozing cat. He takes her round little face in his hands. "I like you, Samahla. I," he takes a breath, "I love you." He ruffles her hair and smiles. "You know that."

"I thought you might not like people like me," she ventures, visibly fighting the impulse to bring her sleeve back to her mouth.

"Elves? I think Mae would tell you that I'm quite fond of her," Anders says trying to keep from laughing.

"No," she screws up her face. "A kid."

"What makes you say that?" He is suddenly hit with a feeling of unease. This was going to be one of those sort of conversations.

"Well, when the puppies came here. I asked how they got here. You said Vorenus loved Niobe and they made the puppies."

"Yes, I did say that. Didn't I?" _Oh sweet Maker in his vaulted heaven. _

"You love Mae, but you don't have any puppies," she says clearly distressed.

"Well, we've got you," he runs a hand over her hair trying desperately to comfort her for both their sakes.

"'S not the same as from her belly, Andy."

"No, I suppose it's not, kid. I could lie to you and say it is the same, but lying is bad, isn't it?"

She nods slowly.

"Let's just say being a Grey Warden made me sick in a way that even I can't heal, so I can't have 'puppies' with Maeve. I would though... if you ask her and she asks."

"Okay, Andy," she says satisfied with his answer. She tries to wriggle into his lap, but he stops her before she tumps them both out of the hammock. He wraps his arms around her and leans back in one fluid motion.

"Can I ask another question?" Samahla buries her head into his chest and yawns.

"Why do you ask me so many questions?" Anders smiles into the top of her head.

"'Cause your my da and you know _**everything**_, silly. Can I ask my question now?"

Anders felt himself smirk at no one in particular as the wave of pride washed over him. "Sure, Sam. Ask away."

Bioware owns Anders and the settings within this story.


	2. An Origin

Answer to the BSN Forum Prompt: Anders as an Origins Companion

Bioware owns Anders, Alistair, the Archdemon, Ferelden, Redcliffe, a small portion of Milwaukee, and the theme song to Charles in Charge

She was fighting like mad to free herself from his arms, her wordless cries of abject grief clashing violently with the screeches of the severely wounded Archdemon. Alistair, of course, was running headlong at the damned thing leaving him to hold onto the elf... The flash of light and power knocked him off his feet. Several minutes later he ventured a chance at opening his eyes. What the f-? Everything was brown and swirly. Something moved over him. Maeve. The brown was her hair then. Anders took a deep painful breath and sat up. He cradled her body across his lap searching her face for life. He smiled in spite of himself as her eyes flickered open. Not dead then. That at least he could be thankful for.

"Mae?"

She pushed him away roughly taking advantage of the shift in both position and situation. By the time Anders had made it to his feet she was running toward Alistair's body. He could tell the boy was dead. She wasn't half the healer he was and even she would know that. The desperate way she was trying to force magic to produce some semblance of life into Alistair's body tore at Anders' heart. _Really? Did she think it would help._

"He's gone. You're just wasting your mana." He dropped to his knees and slid an arm around her. Maeve turned on him, wild-eyed and with only a dangerously tenuous control over her power.

"No. He lied to me. He said he went to her. He'd be fine. I just had to keep you safe. That was my job. I just had to worry about you. He'd be fine. He went to her."

Great, she'd gone mad with grief. From her rambling he gathered that Alistair had not had to die, but, honorable fool that he was, had sacrificed himself. Was being king so objectionable? Anders understood the fear of being locked away forever in a castle, but Alistair had left the woman alone. This was unforgivable. A life that featured a pretty girl, a full stomach, and the ability to lop off the head of any Templar of his choosing almost seemed worth it. Almost.

"Just breathe."

He pulled her to his chest. All these months, she had remained stalwart, letting no one see the cracks in her facade of lead Grey Warden. Well, excluding that one night...

_"I have a favor to ask of you," Maeve whispered into his ear._

_"Ah. That's why you wanted to be on watch with me. And here I thought it was because you liked me." He worked his face into a comically exaggerated pout._

_"You'll, You'll like this," she blushed furiously._

_"Oh, do tell."_

_"I want to..." She bit hard into her bottom lip._

_"Yes?"_

_"I want to sleep with Alistair. I love him." Blood was gathering in the middle of her lip. Anders ran a finger over the split to heal it._

_"Where do I come into this? Do you want me to talk to him?" Anders smiled wickedly. "The Circle Mage biddy already told him where babies come from."_

"_No. When he does sleep with me, if he will-"_

"_Oh, he will. I would, right now." He leered at her ridiculously before laughing and giving her shoulder a playful shove._

"_Honestly?" She looked up at him with a look of bald-faced terror._

"_Are you asking?" She was not asking him that. She wasn't._

"_Yes."_

"_But Alistair." What in the Dark City?_

"_For Alistair." She rubbed the heel of her hand roughly between her eyes. "When he... It'll hurt me."_

"_So, you, never?" He looked at her skeptically._

"_Yes. I... He'll hurt me and it'll kill him. He all but dies when he rolls over on my hair, Anders." She pressed herself to his chest. "You though. You're not that naive or tenderhearted."_

"_No, I __**am not**__, but I can't do that, Mae." Push her away Anders. No? Okay._

"_Why? Guilt-free sex? That sounds right up your corridor." She slipped an arm around his neck._

"_Guilt-free? Yes, I would never feel guilty about sleeping with my friends' woman." He leaned into her embrace until they were forehead to forehead._

"_The virtue of aiding me negates the sin of going behind his back."_

"_Rationalizing? Now that always makes things better."_

"_If you're going to be passive-agressive, just passive-aggressively take me into the woods and-"_

"_Mae-"_

"_Please. You know, I only asked you because I trust you."_

"Warden!"

Anders snapped back to the present to see their allies gathering around them slowly.

"It's dead then. And... and the king?"

Maeve stood, suddenly every bit the last Grey Warden in Ferelden.

"Fereldens, you are lucky. You have such a blessed wonderful king, that he would give himself for your safety. We **shall not **allow his sacrifice to be in vain. We will follow his example and give our everything to rebuild the kingdom that he gave," here she faltered slightly, "his all too short life for. Go forth and tell our fellows of our victory. For Ferelden!"

"For Ferelden!" the men shouted in unison and began working their way down the tower. A couple of the Redcliffe knights looked from Maeve to Anders to Alistair's still body.

"Please take him," Anders said taking his cue from Maeve's silence. "There's a woman below, a Leliana. She will want to see him first. He loved her." The men reverently lifted the fallen king to their shoulders and followed their compatriots down the steps.

"He left me, like I did him. Maybe not in the same way, but still." She slipped back into Anders' arms burying her nose in the juncture between his head and shoulder. He gingerly laid a kiss atop her head as a tremor of guilt worked its way through is body. He'd held her back from Alistair in both situations.

"It's over at least..."

"You are naive, after all. It's just starting, love."


	3. Namaya

"So, you just have a homely elf fetish then?"

"Excuse me?" Anders blanched at the question.

"Well, there's the staring at my ass, and oh, I don't know that woman. Namaya, was it?" Maeve said flicking out a hand behind her. "You know as well as I do that a woman doesn't mess with The Chantry unless she's getting a really nice pay off."

Anders narrowed his eyes. "Is that so? I remember someone stared down a Templar for me."

"Ha, ha. You got me. I am just so in love with you. So is Sigrun. Maker, Oghren's even been looking at you a little funny," Maeve frowned. "Anders, you used her. I really thought better of you."

Anders matched her expression. "Did I? Maybe I cared for her. You don't know."

"I do. If you... If you try that with anyone else I'll see that your ass is marched right back to The Tower. I can abide by murder, thievery, and even debauchery, but I won't allow the outright disrespect of -"

"I did care about her. Not as much as I should have, considering what she did or maybe more than I should have if she set us up. I'm not sure," he stepped toward Maeve. "Can we be done with this, Commander? Please?"

She raised her hand and touched his cheek. "For now."


	4. Hey, Pal

Warning: This story involves severe wounds and severe wibbling.

He coughed. His eye lids were far too heavy. He couldn't stay awake any longer.

"Hey, stay with me, pal."

He turned his head. The blood around her mouth made it a mirror of the gaping wound just below her ribcage. He winced and stretched his hand over her middle, forcing the last bit of magic within him to knit her together. He failed.

"'S no use," she sputtered again. "We're both too tired."

He frowned. They had done their best to save each other, when they both knew they should have just saved her.

"You," he started.

"What?"

She was still interrupting him, even now.

"You're my best friend. It's killing us, but you are," a tiny desperate smirk lighted on his lips.

"Shut up, Anders."

He moved his hand up over her heart.

"Let's not die today."

"Okay. How about a week from next Thursday? Is that good for you?"

"I'll have to check. Busy. Grey Warden and all."

Her heart fluttered and his fingers tensed.

"Andy?"

"Yes?"

"You're mine too."

She closed her eyes slowly. He closed his left, then his right, which fought to keep her pale drawn face in focus.

"Good night, pal."

Her voice.

"G'night."

Anders Belongs to Bioware.


	5. Anything too stupid to be said is sung

This is from a round of song prompts... One of which involves sex, my dears.

**Life is Wonderful - Jason Mraz (4:20)**

Maeve looked down at her hands.

"Does it ever get better? Being the person who makes the decisions for a whole group of people?"

"Wouldn't you know better than me," Alistair said with a sad smile.

"I don't know, your highness," she matched his smile, "I have to ask these people to sign their own death warrants to save the lives of everyone else from darkspawn, only to have them become darkspawn in time."

Alistair slipped his arm around the woman. She seemed so small, as if though compacted into a ball by the weight of leadership.

"I think that a little bad can make a lot of good, and a lot of bad can make a little good. We're proof of that."

He leaned his head against hers.

"Life is wonderful and horrible and too complicated for the understanding of the likes of us," Maeve snuggled into his side. "Good thing we're in charge, huh?"

**Make a Mistake - Brad Paisley. (1:30)**

"There isn't much we can do is there"

"huh?"

"With the making things last."

Alistair tossed his pillow at her.

"Stop worrying. I love you. We're the heroes in this story, remember?"

"And the hero always gets his girl, and vice versa."

"Yup."

"Then why are you still wearing that padding?"

**American Money - Yoko Kanno (1:08)**

Maeve ran high stepping with the former almost templar and dwarf tumbling after.

"Put it back Zev! We can't just be stealin'!"

She hopped on his back, grabbed the silver bowl from his hand and tossed it at the stall keeper.

"Sorry, fella!"

"Adios!"

"That a girl!"

"I'm going to be sick."

"No more Antivan brandy," she said once they'd found cover in a dark alley.

**Goodnight Moon - Shivaree (4:04)**

Maeve hugged herself tightly. She couldn't help put feel small alone. It had been a long time since she'd slept by herself or without another person only a tent away. The moon shone through the window of her room casting oblique shadows across the floor. "Dancing darkspawn," she whispered to no one, well no one she could see. "Wicked memories."

Her door cracked open and fire flew from her finger tips.

"Ow! What did I do?" Anders yelped.

"Oh! And!" Maeve clattered out of bed and slipped her arms around the mage.

"I'm sorry."

"I was just worried about you, and you set me on fire."

"Well, you always do like to say I got you hot and bothered."

"Leave the jokes to me, okay?"

"Hey, if you promise to stay for a while, I'll fix you up."

"Ooooo...big bad war goddess' afraid?"

"Just of facing the moon alone."

"What?"

"Nothing."

**"The Motions" (Acoustic) - Dashboard Confessional (3:58)**

Her fingers sparked as they touch his skin.

"Magic," she whispered in his ear as she kissed the lobe gently.

Alistair moaned softly, his fingers slid over the curve of her stomach down to her hip.

"This is more than that though," she breathed out in a purr. "This is the beautiful flow of energy through the body of all living things. The motions of life it's very self."

She slid a leg over both of his, straddling him.

He gasped, as she found her place atop him.

"Only you, Alistair. I can only touch you like this. We're meant to be together, the make up of our bodies binds us so."

She rocked herself slowly, smiling as he grabbed her waist with his hands.

"I for one won't deny that of which I am made."

"I wouldn't deny you anything," he managed to say as he joined her in steady movement.

**-Random bonus drabble with no song. ^_^-**

Alistair held his head in his hands. He felt the lines in his face. Worry lines, he knew this. He was only thirty years old for Maker's sake, but being king had aged him. Losing the woman he loved had done more than that. Here he sat a broken man on a rebuilt throne.

Why did she go out there alone? Dragging his tired body back to camp, before collapsing in a tiny crumpled pile. Nothing could be done. Nothing.

The stupid mage who talked too much had gnashed his teeth and swore, but nothing he did helped.

Tomorrow, he returned to the campaign. He returned to writing letters that she wouldn't answer. He returned to daggers pointed at his back fighting for his place. He returned to being strong and young, but now he would be old and broken. He would be himself.


End file.
